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A356.0 Aluminum vs. EN 1.6781 Steel

A356.0 aluminum belongs to the aluminum alloys classification, while EN 1.6781 steel belongs to the iron alloys. There are 29 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (3, in this case) are not shown. Please note that the two materials have significantly dissimilar densities. This means that additional care is required when interpreting the data, because some material properties are based on units of mass, while others are based on units of area or volume.

For each property being compared, the top bar is A356.0 aluminum and the bottom bar is EN 1.6781 steel.

Metric UnitsUS Customary Units

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa 70
190
Elongation at Break, % 3.0 to 6.0
17
Fatigue Strength, MPa 50 to 90
450
Poisson's Ratio 0.33
0.29
Shear Modulus, GPa 26
73
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa 160 to 270
830
Tensile Strength: Yield (Proof), MPa 83 to 200
680

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion, J/g 500
260
Maximum Temperature: Mechanical, °C 170
450
Melting Completion (Liquidus), °C 610
1460
Melting Onset (Solidus), °C 570
1420
Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K 900
470
Thermal Conductivity, W/m-K 150
44
Thermal Expansion, µm/m-K 21
13

Electrical Properties

Electrical Conductivity: Equal Volume, % IACS 40
7.9
Electrical Conductivity: Equal Weight (Specific), % IACS 140
9.1

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price, % relative 9.5
5.0
Density, g/cm3 2.6
7.9
Embodied Carbon, kg CO2/kg material 8.0
1.9
Embodied Energy, MJ/kg 150
25
Embodied Water, L/kg 1110
60

Common Calculations

Resilience: Ultimate (Unit Rupture Work), MJ/m3 4.8 to 15
130
Resilience: Unit (Modulus of Resilience), kJ/m3 49 to 300
1220
Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points 15
13
Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points 53
24
Strength to Weight: Axial, points 17 to 29
29
Strength to Weight: Bending, points 25 to 36
25
Thermal Diffusivity, mm2/s 64
12
Thermal Shock Resistance, points 7.6 to 13
24

Alloy Composition

Aluminum (Al), % 91.1 to 93.3
0
Carbon (C), % 0
0.15 to 0.19
Chromium (Cr), % 0
1.3 to 1.8
Copper (Cu), % 0 to 0.2
0
Iron (Fe), % 0 to 0.2
92.6 to 94.6
Magnesium (Mg), % 0.25 to 0.45
0
Manganese (Mn), % 0 to 0.1
0.55 to 0.8
Molybdenum (Mo), % 0
0.45 to 0.6
Nickel (Ni), % 0
3.0 to 3.5
Phosphorus (P), % 0
0 to 0.015
Silicon (Si), % 6.5 to 7.5
0 to 0.5
Sulfur (S), % 0
0 to 0.015
Titanium (Ti), % 0 to 0.2
0
Zinc (Zn), % 0 to 0.1
0
Residuals, % 0 to 0.15
0